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Meet Quincy Augustine

A banner image of ecologists who have benefitted from Opportunity Fund donations in 2020

My name is Quincy Augustine, and I am a Wildlife and Conservation Biologist from the island of Grenada. My career as a biologist kicked into full gear when I was selected to be trained and certified as a Caribbean Conservation Leader. Along with three student researchers and two advisors, we conducted a two-year interdisciplinary study on the impacts of the outflow of sewage at the Grand-Anse Beach and review the policies governing wastewater disposal in Grenada.

Building a career as a biologist can generate preference in working on a particular species. In my case, I was intrigued by animals with the ability of flight resulting in my studies focused on bats. Some may say they’re not the most charismatic, but they’re one of the pillars that hold our ecosystem intact. My career focused on bats has provided me with the opportunity to be a Global South Bat member and work with bat researchers from the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa.

As an early career biologist, opportunities can be very scarce; to combat this, I believe networking and information gathering should be top priorities. This year’s ESA Annual Meeting, being my first, provided me with the necessary workshops and events to address those two priorities. In this meeting, I was able to meet researchers from around the world and listen to their unique research. In addition, I was provided with the opportunity to present on behalf of Gaea Conservation Network.

Financial constraints often plagued early career biologists and the unfortunate appearance of the pandemic has made it even more challenging to obtain funds. The registration grant from ESA was my last hope of being able to attend this year’s meeting; thankfully, I was awarded this grant. Despite the challenges, I must say this year’s Annual Meeting was top-notch, and hats off to the organizers. They’ve made great strides to ensure my first time was memorable. I do hope ESA and their grant programs continue to provide financial support for early-career biologists. However, they can only do so with your help. Your donation and support are life-changing to many early-career biologists, thank you!

Please, help support early-career biologists!

Help us support the participation of diverse people in ecology and meet the $20K in 2020 Past Presidents Challenge—contribute to the Opportunity Fund today!

A diverse science is a rich science. In the past two years, ESA has used the Opportunity Fund to support registration grants and travel for more than 300 ecologists who lack institutional support to participate in the ESA Annual Meeting. Help us to realize our goal of being the inclusive professional home for all ecologists.

You can also contribute to other funds that help us to extend professional opportunities to diverse ecologists. You can contribute directly to SEEDS or the Les Real and Jim Brown Student Travel Fund on our main donation page, or to any of our various other awards when you renew your membership.